John Avery, a 40-year veteran of the industry, including 29 years with British Airways, is the new director of supply chain services at AJW Aviation, the UK-based aircraft spares repair and supply specialist
How did you begin in aviation?
I started as an engineering apprentice with British Airways at the age of 16 in 1969. It was a mixture of hands-on training, starting at the training school, then workshops and hangars, and college, where I gained an HND in mechanical engineering.
Where did your career go from there?
During my time with BA, it became evident I had a talent for organisation and I joined the production planning group, where I got involved in planning the implementation of modifications.
Over time, I developed a reputation as a problem-solver, which got me involved in lots of interesting and challenging situations. It also got me recognised by the management, and this led to an early promotion. Getting a senior management post before my 30th birthday was something I was extremely proud of.
My first real supply-chain job was managing the supply of parts and equipment for the BA fleet operation. I managed the engineering inventory during a time when they were re-equipping the fleet. The sums involved in provisioning (my budget was $200 million) not only put you under pressure but are also the stimulus to be inventive.
We invented a new way of doing multi-fleet provisioning and I was able to hand back $50 million. That was a good day.
My best job at BA was running a group of workshops. With more than 500 mechanics plus support staff, it was certainly a serious man-management job and the opportunities for improvement were very significant.
I left BA early in 1998 and started freelancing and I was lucky enough to do some work for John Williams, then owner of the Memphis Group, and that was the start of a fulfilling professional relationship.
After 11 years as an independent contractor, I felt the time was right for a change. I spent most of 2008 in Prague working for CSA and became reacquainted with AJ Walter Aviation, then in 2009 I moved to the south of England, which led to a role as AJW's director of supply chain services.
What does your job involve?
My role as part of the commercial team is to develop programmes to support customers and meet their changing needs in a cost-effective manner. Most customers do not want to be involved in the "nuts and bolts" - they want to operate their fleet, so we take care of that for them.
How would you say academic qualifications weigh up against on-the-job experience?
On-the-job experience is something you cannot learn at school but, equally, doing an MBA gave me new tools to organise and apply what I had learnt. The marketing and organisation behaviour modules were a revelation to someone who had had an engineering education.
How is logistics management changing?
As aircraft components become more reliable and expensive, smart airlines look for availability rather than ownership and smart logistics management makes this possible. If we don't have it here in our warehouse, we can source and deliver it very quickly and reliably with no compromise on quality. The glue that holds all this together is the instantaneous access to global information.
Do you still get excited about the industry?
Yes - it's the people and the challenge. Aviation is a small industry run by optimists and spread around the world. My career has given me the opportunity to meet a lot of them. AJ Walter Aviation is a forward-thinking organisation with a lot of energy and innovation, which creates a great working environment.
Source: Flight International
